I Know the Salmon’s Struggles

Nary is there a day, when I step from my doorway into the street, that I do not think about salmon. This is unusual for me, considering that I’ve spent most of my life avoiding fish, so read carefully. My student’s schedule operates on a rather different timeframe than the working world. When I go outside it seems like I’m always swimming upstream, like the salmon, of course. When I’m going to school in the evening the three million other people on this island are going home in the opposite direction. This contraflow creates a rigorous trek to the subway, which will take me on the last leg of my journey to spawn new thoughts about business for the next four hours. After class I’m ready to come home. At least I get to survive, unlike the salmon. Case in point, Hong Kong is crowded as ever. That’s the extent of my sympathizing with salmon. Don’t let them know I ate sushi last night.

Everything is still going rather well in Hong Kong. The weather, for one, is much better. For a whole three weeks now it has been possible to go outside and stay dry (from rain or sweat, you decide). Classes have begun their second session. This means three new classes for me, which are “Managing the Leadership Challenge”, “China’s External Relations and their Economic Impact”, and “Financial Modeling”. So far, so good.

Job searching is the other big project. I’m looking for positions in strategy consulting. My “Consulting Skills for Managers” course really piqued my interest and developed my analytical skills, as the course title might suggest (success!). I would like to get in contact with professionals in the field; it seems to me like a career in which I would be genuinely enthusiastic about making an impact. I like the logical challenges of problem solving and the opportunities to interact with people in a wide range of industries and even countries.

That sums it up for now. I’m halfway through my stay here, but somehow it feels like I’ve been here forever. I think this is a good thing; it means I’m enjoying my time thus far and still have an equal amount of time left. Zai jian, good-bye.